Coyote Tricks
by Stardreamer9
Summary: Written as a prequel to the Ranma ½ series. The story answers the question, where did that honking big hammer come from anyway?


Title: Coyote Tricks  
  
Author: Stardreamer  
  
Fandoms: Ranma ½ with cameos from InuYasha and name dropping from others.  
  
Rating: PG for frontal nudity (like you can see anything) and a bath scene.  
  
Story Codes: Original Character  
  
Disclaimers: I do not own the Ranma or InuYasha characters. They are the property of Takahashi Rumiko, Shogakukan Inc. and Viz Communications. I'm only borrowing them for a while to play with. Characters from YuYu Hakusho are mentioned briefly in keeping with free use provisions of copyright law and are owned by Togashi Yoshihiro and Shonen Jump.  
  
Summary: Written as a prequel to the Ranma ½ series. The story answers the question, where did that honking big hammer come from anyway?  
  
Author's Note: This hit me one morning in that early creative state between sleep and wakefulness. The question of where does that huge mallet Akane whaps Ranma with come from has been around awhile and some fanfics came up with the concept of hammerspace, a type of pocket dimension to store things in. This tries to explore the concept in a little more depth as well as a few other things regularly seen in the series. It more a stage setting prequel than an actual story but it insisted on being told. That said, here it is.  
  
Coyote Tricks  
  
Or Where Did That Hammer Come From?  
  
A beautiful day blossomed over the suburbs of Tokyo. A young man sat on a second story balcony day dreaming and watching the clouds drift by, while sipping on a cola. He wore jeans and a T-shirt whose flame design complemented his reddish brown hair nicely. Most of the passing females giving thought to his visage would refer to him as bishounen (a beautiful male). Suddenly his dreams are interrupted by a loud yawn coming from in the house.  
  
"Houuuuuwwwwwwooooooooooo"   
  
The yawn gradually changing into an almost howl before cutting off sharply.  
  
"Finally awake?" the young man called over his shoulder.  
  
The source of the yawn emerged onto the balcony a moment later. Another young man, a little taller than the first, wandered out onto the balcony. The passing females would have given his visage the same thought as the first young man except all thought fled when they noticed the sandy blonde hair covering his head was the only covering he had.  
  
"Geesh Kit! Would you put some clothes on? You're going to cause a panic!"  
  
"Hey at least I bothered to change before coming out. Besides a little panic around here would do some people good."  
  
The naked youth leaned on the balcony rail which fortunately (or unfortunately) hid his lower body from view. Looking down at the street below he saw a middle aged woman looking up at him with her mouth hanging open. He met her gaze and gave her a sexy wink and grin. Breaking out of her shock she proceeded to deal with the outrageous situation in the best Japanese tradition -- pretend he wasn't there.  
  
Kit sighed and looked back at his friend. "I swear…uhh what did you say the name of this place was again?"  
  
"Nerima"  
  
"Oh yes Nerima…I swear Nerima has got to be the most boring place on the entire planet!"  
  
On that profound note, Kit wandered back inside followed by his friend. Kit went over to the stack of clothes next to the couch where he had just been sleeping. Picking up a pair of briefs and a t-shirt, he gave them a quick sniff, decided they were passable, grabbed up a pair of jeans and started getting dressed.  
  
His friend settled into a chair. "I got a call while you were asleep; I need to go down to Kouso for a couple of weeks on business. Would you like to come with me?"  
  
"I don't think that would be a very good idea. His lordship is still pretty pissed at me from the last time I visited."  
  
"Hey I warned you he didn't have a sense of humor."  
  
"And since when has that ever stopped me?" Kit asked with a grin.  
  
"You have a point there. So, what are going to do while I'm gone, go back to America?"  
  
"No I think I'll sniff out something to do around here".  
  
"But I thought you said Nerima was boring?"  
  
"Well, I'll just have to do something about that, won't I?"  
  
-  
  
The three Tendo sisters Kasume, Nabiki and Akane were walking back from the market when suddenly Nabiki stopped.   
  
"Oh! Look at that strange dog." Nabiki said.  
  
"Oh my, a strange dog you say?" Kasume replied covering her mouth.  
  
Walking down the street to them, Nabiki's "dog" was tan colored with a lean body and tall pointed ears.  
  
"I don't think it is a dog, maybe it's a fox," Kasume said.  
  
Nabiki stared intently, "He doesn't look like any fox I've ever seen, more like a coyote."  
  
"A coyote," Akane laughed, "there are no coyotes in Japan!"  
  
Said coyote was fully aware of the anachronism his presence in Japan presented but quite frankly didn't care as he noticed the girls studying him. He immediately perked up his ears and ran over to sit in front of the girls his tail wagging excitedly.   
  
"Oh how cute!" Akane said bending down to pet the affectionate coyote.  
  
"Akane, be careful." Nabiki said.  
  
"Oh it's alright Nabiki, he is friendly see," Akane said as she pet and scratched the coyote behind the ears. The look on his face was pure bliss. Soon he was being petted and fawned over by all the girls. After a few moments, the girls reluctantly got up and moved on. The coyote watched them go and gave a soft whine.  
  
A short while later a dark haired teenage girl stopped in front of a gate. She looked at the sign nailed to the wall. "Tendo Dojo" it read and then down at the sign resting on the ground. "To challenge owner in savage combat, please use rear entrance." She looked up and stared for several minutes at something only she seemed able to see. Then she seemed to sniff the air. A large smile graced her face. "Perfect," she said.  
  
The Tendo family had just finished another one of Kasume's fine meals when the bell at the Dojo entrance rang.   
  
"Oh my, we have visitors" Kasume said.  
  
The girl's father, Soun stood and proceeded to the Dojo. "A challenger at this hour?" he wondered out loud.  
  
On reaching the Dojo gate he found a teenage girl. "Good evening, may I help you?" he asked.  
  
Bowing deeply the girl replied, "Good evening honorable Sir, I am Takahashi Motoko," (A/N In a tip to authenticity, I use the Japanese style of giving full names, family name first and then given name.) rising a slight grin broke on her face as she continued, "I have come to challenge the owner in savage combat."  
  
Soun was taken aback a moment. "Young lady this is a serious Dojo…" he started.  
  
"I am sorry Master, I am on a training journey and wish to challenge to prove my worthiness to stay a while and train in your Dojo." Motoko said bowing again.  
  
"Hmm, I see…very well then. I am Tendo Soun, the owner of this dojo, please come in."  
  
Soun led Motoko into the dining room where Kasume was setting out a tea serving.  
  
"This is my eldest daughter Kasume. Kasume this is Takahashi Motoko"  
  
"Pleased to meet you, would you like some tea?" Kasume asked Motoko.  
  
"Yes, thank you," the young girl replied.  
  
"Thank you, Kasume" Soun said.  
  
Motioning to his other daughters standing in the doorway, Soun proceeded with the introductions. "This is my second oldest daughter Nabiki and my youngest daughter Akane."  
  
They exchanged greetings and sat down at the table.   
  
"So you are martial arts student, what is your school?" Soun asked as everyone got settled.  
  
"Kitsune" Motoko answered with a grin.  
  
"As in the fox spirit?" Akane asked.  
  
"Yes, we combine several arts with an emphasis on cunning and guile."  
  
"I see." Soun said. "Our school is the Anything Goes School of Indiscriminate Grappling. We also combine several arts with an emphasis on maximum flexibility in application." (A/N This is the closest as I can come to describing 'Anything Goes' in a martial art.)  
  
"And you are on a training journey?"  
  
"Yes, my sensei instructed that, where possible, I stay a few weeks at dojos I find along the way. That way I can experience other schools techniques and offer to demonstrate our schools techniques in return."  
  
"All right," Soun said after a moments thought, "you are welcome to stay and train with the girls provided you are willing to contribute to the upkeep of the dojo."  
  
"Of course Sensei and thank you" Motoko replied.  
  
"Ahem," Nabiki spoke up, "I'm afraid I must point out we are not a wealthy dojo, it would be appreciated if you could contribute to the grocery costs during your stay."  
  
"Nabiki!" Akane objected but was cut off by Motoko's reply.  
  
"Of course, I would be happy to help pay," Motoko said.  
  
Soun stood, "Well very good, let's see to your challenge then. Kasume, Nabiki please prepare the guest room for Motoko. Akane, you and Motoko change and meet me in the dojo."  
  
Later, Akane and Motoko dressed in traditional gi squared off on the dojo floor. They bowed to each other then each assumed a ready stance. Neither moved for a moment as they studied each other but the moment did not last long as Akane leapt to the attack.  
  
**Aw, she has little patience** Motoko observed as she blocked and launched a counter strike. The sparing went back and forth for several minutes. In the course of the fight, Motoko sized up her opponent. **She is good but her heart is not fully in the art. She lets anger cloud her and relies more on brute force than skill. She is perfect!**   
  
The competition ended with Motoko winning two out of the three rounds. Akane and Motoko bowed to each other and Akane broke out in a grin.  
  
"Thank you for such a good fight. Come on lets go wash off the sweat." She said.  
  
Motoko stared for a moment, "A bath?" then she also grinned, "I'd love too."  
  
Later the two girls were soaking lazily in the bath. Akane had been a little nervous at first when they changed. It seemed to her that Motoko was staring at her when she thought Akane wasn't looking. But Akane attributed it to her own nerves over bathing with a stranger. "She is a girl after all." She thought and finally relaxed as the hot water soaked into her aching muscles.  
  
"Akane," Motoko said after a while, "I really enjoyed our fight. I think you are really skilled."  
  
"Thank you" Akane answered, "You're pretty good too."  
  
"Your family is being so nice letting me stay here, in repayment I'd like to teach you one of my school's special techniques."  
  
"A special technique?" Akane said surprised.  
  
"Yes, the actual name is complicated, so let's just call it Hammer space. If you would like we can start tomorrow after school."  
  
"OK," Akane answered with a grin. "It's a deal".  
  
After their bath, Akane and Motoko joined the rest of the family in the living room. The girls visited and got to know each other. Soun brought up the question of school.  
  
"On the training journey, I do not stay in one place long enough to attend regular school," Motoko explained. "My Sensei set up a self study program with the local school and I test when I return."  
  
"I see", Soun said. "That's alright then, but my girls do have school tomorrow so it's off to bed."  
  
With that the girls said their goodnights and headed off to bed.  
  
-  
  
The next morning Motoko awoke to the sounds of the girls leaving for school. Or more precisely, she leapt out of her bed into a crouch when Akane came thundering past her door. She took a moment to relax and then went to the window. She saw Akane and Nabiki heading down the road. She watched them disappear around the corner and started to turn away when she noticed a middle aged man staring up at her from the street. That was when she remembered she wasn't wearing any clothes. She met his gaze and gave him a sexy wink and grin. Then she pulled the window closed and proceeded to get dressed.  
  
A few minutes later she came down the stairs in a jogging suit and joined Soun for breakfast. After finishing breakfast and helping Kasume with the dishes she started out the door.  
  
"I'm going out to exercise and practice. I'll be back later." Motoko said.   
  
"All right, Motoko be careful." Soun answered.  
  
She jogged down the street and then disappeared into an alleyway.  
  
  
  
The sun was shining on the courtyard of Furinkan High School as the students milled around eating, gossiping and playing during the first lunch period. Three girls were sitting under a tree eating their lunch when one of them looked up suddenly.  
  
"Oh look a doggy!" she said pointing over across the field.  
  
"I never seen a dog like that before, what type is he?" the second asked.  
  
"I don't think it's a dog, it looks like a coyote." The third said.  
  
"A coyote in Japan don't be silly," number two said.  
  
"I wonder if he'd like a treat?" said number one. "Here boy want a treat!?" she called and whistled.  
  
The coyote perked up his ears and ran across the field to the girls. Dropping on his belly in front of the girl and dropping his head squarely in her lap. His tail wagged happily as he gave her a big set of puppy dog eyes. Within moments they were surrounded by girls all ohhing and awing over the coyote, who was enjoying every moment of it.  
  
A short time later in the bushes outside the Furinkan Kendo club, the coyote sat watching upperclassman Kuno Tatewaki with interest. He had been wondering about the school all day dodging teachers when he wasn't getting petted and admired. He had been privy to several interesting conversations concerning the "Shooting Star" of the Kendo Club and had come to see for himself.   
  
*Hmm, he's good and he has a lot of raw talent but while he puts on a good facade, he is sorely lacking in self-control. I think the poor boy needs some help to master his talents,* the coyote thought to himself.  
  
The coyote took in the bag filled with bokkens next to Kuno's feet. They all showed equal signs of wear. A toothy grin broke out on the coyote's face as he stepped back into the shadow of the bushes. The shadows seemed to shift and in place of the coyote stood Kit. His body was quickly covered with jeans and t-shirt he summoned from the ether space pocket he kept them in while in coyote form.  
  
Stealthily, he crept up behind Kuno and grabbing the bag returned to the shadows of the bushes.  
  
Sitting the bag down in front of him, Kit started to concentrate on wooden swords in the bag. Fortunately, Kuno handled the swords so frequently that minute traces of his spirit energy clung to them. It was childishly easy for Kit to tune the energies he wove into the wood to that spirit energy. He sat back and smiled at his handy work. To anyone else they would still be inert wooden swords but in Kuno's hands they would become instruments of his will. Driven by his emotion and subconscious desire, he could slice through walls or even summon the lightning from the skies. Of course, Kit only intended to bring a little excitement to Nerima life not bloody mayhem, so there was also a limitation that prevented the swords from harming living flesh. Pleased with the results Kit quickly returned the bag to its original location.  
  
He moved around the outside of the field then came back in front of Kuno. "Good Afternoon" he said.  
  
"Good Afternoon", Kuno replied with an aristocratic air that implied that he was doing this gaijin a favor by noticing him.  
  
*Aww, I hate him already* Kit thought.  
  
"I had heard that there was a champion Kendo master at this school and I have come to observe this paragon of the art. Could you tell my kind sir where I might find this individual?" Kit asked.  
  
Kuno's face immediately brightened. "Look no further, kind sir for it is I who you seek. Kuno Tatewaki, the rising star of the high school Kendo society, he who is called the Shooting Star of Furinkan High!"  
  
*Gods, how pathetic!* Kit thought. "Fantastic, please sir tell me more about yourself!"  
  
Kuno delighted to find an admirer proceeded to tell Kit everything about himself. The more Kit praised him the cockier he became. Kit became even more excited himself as he realized how much fun life was going to be around here when Kuno started using his altered bokkens.   
  
Eventually, Kuno moved on to feelings for one Tendo Akane. "She is the gorgeous flower of maidenhood. So savage yet beautiful." He commented.  
  
*I get the feeling he expressed his feelings already to Akane and gathered some lumps in return.* Kit thought with a smile. "I know of this Tendo Akane," he said.  
  
"What do you know of her?" Kuno asked with an intensity that was scary.  
  
*Bingo* Kit's grin grew bigger. "She is warrior maiden of the Anything Goes School. Like the Amazons of legend she will not accept a suitor that is inferior to her in battle. She lives for the challenge of combat." *Man the BS is getting deep!* "If I may be so bold master Kuno, I have a suggestion on how you may win her heart…"  
  
The next day, the auditorium at Furinkan High was filled with the entire student body for the annual speech contest. Unnoticed by all, a raven flew in through an open window and landed in the lighting catwalk above the seats. If anyone had thought to look they would have been surprised when on second glance they would have seen not a bird but a fair haired young man with pointed coyote ears and tail. Kit produced a small urn of incense and a bag seemingly from thin air. He lit the incense and settled down on the catwalk to watch the show.  
  
The speech competition proceeded slowly with various uninteresting speakers. Kit twice almost fell off the catwalk as he began to nod off. Then the moment he was waiting for arrived. He sat up with rapt attention as Kuno approached the podium. He emptied the contents of the bag into his hand.  
  
Kuno began his speech. Kit, having sat up all night watching Kuno draft his speech and even making a few changes when he wasn't looking, knew what was coming and grinned in anticipation. Kuno started into a flowery diatribe on the beauty of Akane. He then segued into how anyone seeking her attentions must be worthy of her. Finally, he laid down a challenge that anyone who sought to date her must first defeat her in combat. As he began the challenge, Kit blew the dust in his hand into the air and watched it settle down over the crowd. The effect of the dust on those prepped by the incense would have the hormones of every male in the place fired up. The timing would turn Kuno's pathetically stupid challenge into a subliminal command. It wouldn't affect every male of course, but it would work on many of them and the more competitive they were the stronger the effect. By tomorrow almost every athlete in the school would be seeking to defeat Akane out of love. A huge grin broke out on Kit's face and his tail wagging rapidly as he anticipated the chaos that would follow.  
  
-  
  
A few days later, Akane and Motoko had finished their training session and Akane had stomped off to her room in a huff. Every day since Kuno had given his speech, a horde of love struck teenage males had attacked Akane at the school gate. No one seemed to notice the raven purchased on the school fence during the proceedings each morning. Fortunately for Motoko, the building anger and frustration that Akane was building up each day was proving extremely helpful in teaching the hammer space technique. Motoko doubted that Akane's spirit powers would have been adequate under the circumstances but by using here anger to focus and augment her spirit power, they were achieving success far greater than Motoko had hoped. Already they had managed to form the ether space pocket and bind it to Akane's spirit energy. They had also bound a large wooden mallet, which Motoko had found, to the energy of the pocket. The result was the mallet would automatically return to the pocket whenever Akane was not expending the spirit energy to summon it forth. So far Akane was succeeding in one try out of ten to summon it and then only when she was very angry. Fortunately getting Akane angry did not appear to be too difficult. Nowadays all one had to do was mention boys.  
  
Now Motoko settled down to the other activity she had taken on in the Tendo household, playing Go with Sensei Soun. Learning the game was interesting but she was rapidly getting bored with it. The main reason she was still playing was that Soun enjoyed the game so much; he became quite relaxed while playing. They spent the evenings discussing many things but the history of the Anything Goes School in particular. She found that during the game, particularly with some helpings of sake for the sensei, Soun could become quite lucid. She learned of Soun's previous master, Happosai and where Soun and his fellow student Saotome Genma had left their master years ago. ** This Happosai sounds very interesting ** Motoko had thought to herself.  
  
Tonight however Motoko steered the conversation to Genma and what had happened to him.  
  
"So," she asked as she placed her next stone down, "where is Mr. Saotome now?"  
  
Soun carefully considered the board as he answered, "Oh I haven't seen him in years although we are friends with his wife Saotome Nadoka. Genma and his son Saotome Ranma are on an extended training mission. The last I heard from Nadoka was that they were going to China."   
  
Soun placed his next stone down and Motoko quickly placed her next move.  
  
"Oh and do you think he will set up his own dojo when they return?"   
  
"Oh no, he and I have an arrangement you see. When they return Ranma will marry one of my daughters and together they will carry on this dojo." Soun said happily but then a worried look came over him. "I'm sorry I probably should not have mentioned that. I haven't explained it to the girls yet, I would appreciate it if you would not mention it to them."  
  
"Of course, Sensei" Motoko answered as she bowed deeply partly to show respect for his wishes but mostly to hide the large grin that came over her face.  
  
Switching the subject, Soun looked out the open doorway at the koi pond garden. "One of the things I really like about Nermia is the quiet nights," he said.  
  
"I find it boring myself, Sensei"  
  
"Sometimes but I prefer the quiet myself." A grin spread over his face as he placed another stone. "I win and now young Motoko it is time for you to go to bed."  
  
"Yes Sensei".  
  
Shortly after midnight a full moon glowed brightly over the empty streets of Nermia. A large white dog roamed the streets sniffing here and there, happily exploring. He rarely left the boarding house were his mistress was the landlord but tonight he was feeling strangely restless. Coming around the corner by the Tendo Dojo, he met a collie sniffing around a garbage can. The traditional tail sniffing occurred and the two of them started to go their own ways when they were stopped by a yip. Standing in the middle of the street was the coyote. He came over to the two dogs and another round of tail sniffing occurred ending with all three sitting facing each other, almost like they were holding a meeting. The dogs' ears flicked forward and heads tilted to follow the sound as the coyote let out a series of series of whistling whines and yips that almost looked like a conversation. Then the coyote looked up at the full moon overhead and the dogs head turned to follow his. The coyote tipped his head fully back and let forth a howl at the moon. After a few seconds, the two dogs joined him forming a harmony. Gradually dogs all over the neighborhood joined in much to the alarm and consternation of the human population.  
  
-  
  
Finally two weeks had passed. Akane and Motoko stood on the balcony looking out into the evening. A dog howled in the distance.  
  
"Its odd," Akane said, "you never used to hear dogs howling around here. Now it seems like at least one is every night."  
  
"Yes," Motoko answered, "pretty isn't it."  
  
"I guess. So do you think I'll ever be able to master hammer space?"  
  
"You know everything you need to know now. Yes, you can only summon it using your anger but eventually with practice you will master it."  
  
"Ok, I guess," Akane sighed. Then she looked up suddenly. "How odd a couple of weeks ago it was a coyote and now a fox, look."  
  
Motoko looked down where Akane was pointing and saw a red fox sitting atop the outer wall looking up at them. She and fox stared at each other for a few seconds.  
  
"I think it is time for me to go," Motoko said at last.  
  
"Oh must you?"  
  
"Yes I think so first thing in the morning but for now how about a bath before we go to bed." Motoko said looking back at the fox. The fox suddenly stood and jumped down into the street and disappeared.  
  
Early the next morning Motoko with her pack stepped out the gate and proceeded down the street. Turning the corner a red fox fell in step beside her.   
  
"So Shippo, how was his Lordship?" Motoko asked.  
  
With a pop and flash of fox fire, the red fox disappeared and in its place was a young man wearing jeans and T-shirt whose flame design complemented his reddish brown hair nicely.   
  
"Oh you know Sessy, 'Great Lord of the Western Lands' always lording over us common youki. You think he would mellow with age. I gathered from Jaken that he still is holding a grudge from the last time you were here."  
  
As Shippo spoke Motoko's form was gradually changing until after a moment, Kit with pointed ears and tail walked along side Shippo and spoke up. "Hey I wasn't the one that put the pink hair dye in that shampoo he uses for his tail; I just took the blame for it."  
  
"No, but you put me up to it and I do have to live in the same country with him you know," Shippo answered in his defense. "I see you've been busy. I hope you haven't been into too much mischief, I really don't want any spirit detectives hunting me."  
  
"Oh I didn't get into too much trouble, at least nothing that would get Lord Koenma's people in a tizzy. Let's just say that Nermia isn't as boring as it used to be." Kit said with a grin.  
  
The End, for now.  
  
Author's Note: Kit evolved in the telling of this story. I originally was looking for a chaos figure from Japanese mythology but I couldn't find one in the limited sources I used. The closest was the Kitsune (the fox spirits) like Shippo but while they are tricksters, they didn't seem quiet powerful or mischievous enough for my needs. That's when I settled on using the North American Trickster legend for my character. The Coyote spirit in Native American mythology is a trickster. He appears in many tribes' stories and in other tribes as the Raven. In most tales I find, he is not malicious and it appears that what harm he does is not intentional but more from carelessness unlike chaos figures in other religions. The depiction of Kit in this story is not intended to be an accurate reflection of Native American belief. Kit is a son of the great Coyote spirit and his powers and abilities are similar to the Kitsune of Japan. This gives him that extra power I needed for what I wanted Kit to do as well as avoiding having me mess up legend by trying to use the actual Coyote spirit of which I just don't know enough. He seems fun enough to use again, so I will probably work up some more history on him later. 


End file.
